One of the easiest ways to start automating document creation is to use the tools already included in the programs or platform we use daily. For most of us, this will be using text expansion or text replacement[1]. With text expansion or replacement, you type a special word, series of letters or characters and it is replaced with something else, such as a name, phone number, phrase or even an image. While there are third party text expansion programs, you can easily get started using the auto correction feature built into your program such as Word, Outlook or WordPerfect or included in your operating system such as iOS and OS X.

What is meant by auto correction? Open your word processor of choice and deliberately misspell a word as you type. For example, type “teh” in MS Word and hit the spacebar, Word automatically changes this to “the.” In other words, Word automatically corrects your misspelling. This is auto correction of text. As with many software features, it may be called one thing something other than auto correction – Microsoft calls it AutoCorrect while Word Perfect calls it Quick Words. In the end, they all work similarly by changing or replacing the text or characters typed. Many auto correction tools include pre-configured words and characters for the most common misspellings, while others provide a few examples and let you create your own (like iOS). But their usefulness does not stop simply with correcting misspelled words: you can add your own words and corrections to those that are pre-configured to allow you to start automating document creation.

If you find yourself typing the same text over and over again, such as a signature block or a phrase, use the auto correction feature of your program to replace or expand the abbreviated text you assigned to it. For example, you can elect to add “vty“ to your auto correction tool and have it replace those three letters with a signature block such as:

Very Truly Yours,

Nerino J. Petro, Jr.

Attorney at Law

Or add“;wfr” to the auto correction tool and have it replace these letters with:

I will await your response.

Here are just a few of the articles you can find on the Internet on using auto correction for text expansion and replacement:

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